Wandering Westminster

Since we were in London, and staying in Belgravia, it was logical to walk around Westminster given our limited time and the original delay in arriving. We did not want to try to cram too much in, so once we were ready merely meandered our way to afternoon tea at the Ritz, and once were were done took a circuitous route back in an effort to shed some of what we had gorged :).

On the way

Buckingham Palace was around a couple of corners and you can see even on a gloomy day it is quite grand. The Queen Victoria statue even gleamed gold against a foreboding sky though the rain held off.

The carriage was empty but still cool to see the magnificent condition of the horses and such an old but reliable form of transport among the modern choking cars and taxis and buses! Big Ben, of course, dominates even in the gloom ... really looking majestic framed by the winter sentinels ... not a furry hat in sight!

And finally a bare Green Park that is never really bare ... the grass is green, the sky is grey, the trees are bare and dark but the daffodils are bright yellow and white ... and there, there is the Ritz - not a hint of the opulence that lies within those grey block walls. But it was lovely and warm after the wander there.

The next day in the sunshine

Two views of the Palace to contrast with the gloomy views above ... just even more grand and majestic when the sun is shining!

 

While not Green Park, the shots below offers a wonderful glimpse of how much different the winter cloak looks on a clear sunny day ... this is just over the road in St James Park and comparing it to the shot of Green Park above you can see ... the the grass is greener, the sky is blue, the trees don't seem so bare or dark and the daffodils are even more yellow and white ... and, well, there was no need to find the Ritz because it was already lovely and warm wandering there (relatively speaking, of course!) ... the bottom photo of the home of the Palace Horse Guards almost looks like Disneyland :).

St James Park - natural environment

Here is some of the wildlife that was out enjoying the early days of spring ...

White-faced water hen ... check the feet! 

Black-faced gull

One of many squirrels - always cute!

  And some bigger feathered creatures ...

A heron

Pommy pelicans (so pale!)

The incomparable swan

And some built environment ...

We had intended catching a ferry up to Greenwich for lunch but by the time we reached the dock the line was VERY long and so we just headed back along the river to Pimlico, spent some time at the Tate Britain (there was a gallery with three Hockney dual portraits that was enough for me!) and had some lunch, rested weary legs and feet before heading back to catch our bus back to Norwich. Here are a few glimpses of familiar sights, but still a treat to see them in full sunshine :) ...

Big Ben towering over Westminster

The Thames at low tide

I wanted to include the next three because they offer a glimpse of some the good sides of democracy that we perhaps take too much for granted ... at least being in a position to take these photos and enjoy the moment and surroundings without any great rush allowed me to reflect and come up with these thoughts ...

The image above, like so many contrasting the bare frames of winter trees with our man-made structures, serves to highlight how so little in nature is angular and straight and "contrived and controlled" in construction by our engineering. Nature attains stability and strength and majesty in the opposite way ... the ragged, the jagged, the crooked, the spindly, just enough for the right level of balance for whatever is needed ... it would seem so much we can still learn through biomimicry!

 

The two photos above remind us of how things have improved even though we still feel there may be a lot of improvement left ... the top left one is a memorial to the Buxton's who were instrumental in legislating for the abolition of slavery. Interestingly, during a guided tour of the Norwich Cathedral there was plaque commemorating this same event in one of the side chapels (top right one) - the Buxton's it seems were from Norfolk! The larger image is a celebration of the contribution of Emily and Christbel Pankhurst and their leadership role in the suffrage movement. Still it seems the paths these pioneers cleared remain rather overgrown :(.

This final image is the main vestibule in the Tate Britain gallery. One of the wonderful things I enjoy about many galleries is the sense of space ... and it was a moment here when it seemed especially vacant and rather pervasive. I actually took a series of these and when you look at in sequence (flick through them) you get a fleeting glance at how space constantly changes ... even though it is the same space, it is never the same; even if there was no people movement, the light always transforms the space ... ah, what the heck ... here are the three together below - it might help make my point a little less obtuse?

And next ... a bit more about Norwich.